by AllanS » September 11th, 2006, 10:09 pm
I'm much taken with the fact that there exist an infinite number of truths which are quite unprovable to a finite mind. The existence of God, the identification of God with YHWH, the incarnation of God, the authority of the Church, the glory of Mary, transubstantiation, the forgiveness of sins, life everlasting beyond death... all these seem to be candidates.
Of course, there also exist an infinite number of falsehoods that cannot be disproved. All the above are candidates for this list also.
How to proceed? It's true that Artemis might be a sort of prefiguring of Mary, a collective longing for our true spiritual mother. It's equally possible that Mary is a distorted memory of the true Goddess Artemis, who patiently waits for us to repent and turn back to her, not wishing that any should perish. Or perhaps, as John pointed out, her real name is Guan Yin.
Faith is a gift. It cannot be arrived at by reason, since the object of faith provides reason's foundation.
The question for me becomes: What faith have I already been given? What things do I believe, really believe, without doubt or question. Things like: "Don't murder babies", and "Blessed are the merciful", and "The truth will set you free". Then I need to identify the group (if there is one) who most consistently embodies, nourishes, affirms and defends these beliefs, and join with them. If they also believe that Mary is Queen of Heaven (something I can neither prove nor disprove), that cannot logically be an issue.
“And turn their grief into song?" he replied. "That would be a gracious act and a good beginning."
Quid and Harmony: a fund-raising project for the Fistula Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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